Writer: Syahida Kamarudin

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Watch this if you liked: "Pacific Height", all Samuel L. Jackson's movies

There's something about Samuel L. Jackson that is out of the ordinary. If he's your neighbour, he would be the guy loved by kids and at the same time, scare the pee out of them too. If he's your neighbourhood patrol, you will feel extremely safe, unless you're the punk he's chasing. If he's your dad, I bet you're going to be verrrry good.

It's always fun to watch Jackson in his element, and by this, I mean scaring the crap out of people through his screaming, gun pointing and the occasional let-me-take-my-pants-off-to-show-you-how-serious-I-am method of teaching. It's how he conveys his message to people that has been something to look out for. Jackson tends to speak slowly, uttering word by word, like saying "Let me enunciate it for you so you Can. Un-der-stand. Me. Bet-ter." To be fair, Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington as the Mattison couple play their roles well individually, except that sometimes you are not very convinced with the whole interracial marriage thing. There's a chemistry missing and it feels like you're watching two best friends sharing a house instead of a couple of newlyweds.

The premise is simple. Officer Abel Turner (Jackson) checks out his new neighbours, an African American lady and her dad, thinking that he will go say hi after the white transporter guy leaves. Things get ugly when the white guy he thought was a mover turns out to be the husband, and Turner doesn't like it at all. He doesn't like the fact that the guy likes rap music; the fact that they vote for the Democrats and even has issues with him making out with his wife in the pool. He wants them gone by any means necessary.

The first hour of the movie was intense. You will find yourself wanting to hate Abel Turner, especially his nonchalant rude jokes with the couple. You can see him scheming in his mind the next evil act that he's going to do, and you're going to anticipate it through gritted teeth. However, things start to go downhill from there. The reason why he was so detrimental with the couple was told too soon that it ruined the built suspense. The ending makes you go "That's it?" and start to question the things that would happen to other characters as well.

"Lakeview Terrace" is a racial thriller drama that is subtle in its presentation. I mean, it will not trigger any angry African American mob led by Al Sharpton nor would it taint Jackson's credibility. However, the movie is predictable to the core. Thirty minutes to the end and you can almost guess what would happen. The movie is very linear with no twist whatsoever.

Let's just say, if you like all Samuel L. Jackson movies, you will definitely enjoy this one.

Cinema Online, 01 December 2008